Scottie Scheffler was in form coming to the Renaissance Club: top 25 finishes in his 14 starts this season. His records at the Genesis Scottish Open were also pretty solid: a T8 finish in 2025 and a T3 finish in 2023. However, things were different this time. The World No. 1 needed a birdie on the 18th to make the cut but managed a par, missing the cut for the first time in 78 events, close to four years, and 1,428 days later. But the resilient champion still took the loss positively.

“I got off to a tough start and back nine; just felt like I wasn’t hitting it close enough to give myself enough opportunities. I think that’s really kind of what it comes down to. Got off to a poor start, and after that, I didn’t really hit it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks,” Scheffler said about his round at the press conference. “I didn’t really feel like I played that bad. This golf course can be just tough at times. You know, there are some humps and mounds out there, and yeah, I’m trying to think, just because it’s like — didn’t really feel like I played that bad.”

The PGA Tour reported on X that he last missed the cut at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, his words about the golf course being tough bring to mind his missed cut from the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open a few weeks earlier. Coincidentally, he missed that cut by two strokes, carding a +5 on the opening two days.

This week’s MC resulted from a challenging Round 2. Scheffler typically struggles on Thursday, recovers on Friday to make the cut, and plays exceptionally well during the weekend. This time, though, he didn’t get the chance to recover.

His opening round was decent: he carded a 2-under-par 68 with two bogeys and four birdies. Today, it was the opposite—two birdies and four bogeys en route to 2-over 72. After 36 holes, he was at even par 140, while the projected cut was at two under. When discussing his cut-making streak, Scheffler acknowledged things are slightly different now.

“Yeah, it’s a little different now with some of the signature events not having cuts. But you know, this is—I don’t think I finished outside of the top 20 or something like that many times this year. I’m definitely proud of the consistency and wish I had a couple days over the weekend to make up some ground. But overall, get down to Birkdale a little earlier than expected and get used to a new course.”

Indeed, Scheffler’s consistency has been evident this season: nine top-5 and eight top-three finishes in 14 starts. This includes a win at the American Express and four runner-up finishes (the Masters, the RBC Heritage, the Cadillac Championship, and the Travelers Championship).

But despite the consistency, the Signature Events with no cut meant that the 30-year-old had guaranteed four-round starts. That’s why Tiger Woods‘ streak seems even more enormous. The veteran golfer made 142 consecutive cuts between 1998 and 2005. Scheffler required another 64 cuts to equal that record.

The missed cut now places Scheffler fifth on the list for the most consecutive cuts made. He was just eight cuts behind Hale Irwin’s streak of 86.

Scheffler was also asked whether he would be back next year. To which his response was a mix of deep reflection tinged with a characteristic sense of humor.

“Back next year? It’s funny, like last year, I feel like I got really frustrated on this golf course playing some good golf and just not really able to get anything going as well. You know, then I went and played well at The Open Championship.”

“So it’s always a balancing act—it could be one of those things where you just get over jet lag, get used to a new style of golf, and new types of grasses, and maybe I just haven’t adjusted as quickly, or maybe this golf course just doesn’t suit my eye much. I’ll reflect on that kind of at the end of the year and assess what my plans are going into next season.”

Despite all his brilliance, Scheffler could not conquer the links course, and that’s not just his story. Many American elites have struggled on links courses. Phil Mickelson, who won the Open at Muirfield in 2013, also faced many challenges. He admitted to around a decade of trial and error to get to the finishing line.

Scheffler’s own record at the Open proves the same. While he won at Royal Portrush in 2025, his previous finishes were T8, T21, and T23 in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. While solid, these finishes fall short of his usual standard. But as he said, he will focus on the Open 2026 rather than dwell on the missed cut.